One Malibu Park resident threatens litigation over athletic field lights at Malibu High School, while district and school officials continue with quest to obtain permit for permanent lighting.
By Nora Fleming / Special to The Malibu Times
Malibu Park residents put some heat on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District about proposed athletic field lighting last Tuesday at a meeting designated to give the community background on sustainability measures the district is taking in the Measure BB construction project at Malibu High School. The district board of education will discuss the issue of pursuing a temporary permit for lights at its regular meeting this Thursday at Malibu City Hall.
The meeting was part of a series on various upgrades funded by Measure BB, a $268 million bond measure passed by Santa Monica and Malibu voters in 2006 to improve the facilities at district schools, of which $30, 375,000 will go toward Malibu High School.
While some of the improvements, such as a new library and administration building, are supported by most residents, other improvements, such as the installation of permanent lighting on the school’s football field, have resulted in adamant opposition by some of the school’s neighbors. Others believe the lights are essential in providing students with an adequate sports program that can play host to visitor games, in addition to evening practices.
Though the meeting briefed audience members about the school’s green-friendly improvements, during the public comment portion of the meeting residents attacked the issue of permanent field lights, the topic of the previous Jan. 14 meeting.
“It’s the wrong thing and we are violently opposed to it,” said Malibu Park resident Marshall Thompson of the lighting. “This is a foot in the face of the entire Malibu experience. Our neighborhood is revved up and pissed off, and we have ratcheted up to fight the school board.”
Several residents held signs reading “Say No to 203,” reflecting the number of nights proposed by the district that the field would be lit throughout the school year. Others said lighting the field is illegal and goes against a California Coastal Commission development permit that prohibits any field lighting at the school, a source of contention between residents and the school for years.
On Tuesday, district officials said they are in the process of applying for an amendment to the existing coastal development permit, or CDP, for temporary lighting from the California Coastal Commission. The existing permit, which was issued in 2000 for Proposition X, a SMMUSD school improvements project that paid for the building of 12 new classrooms, a track and two science labs at MHS in 2002-2003, prohibits the use of temporary or permanent lighting on the school’s athletic fields.
Principal Mark Kelly said Tuesday that the temporary lights have been used at the school for more than five years, and that he does not know how the lights got there.
In August last year, the SMMUSD Board of Education approved the services of environmental consulting group, CAA Planning, to represent the district in applying for an amendment to the CDP to allow for permanent lighting at Malibu High School. The current application is for temporary lighting for the upcoming football season.
Jan Maez, district assistant superintendent, said an amendment for permanent lighting cannot be pursued until the environmental impact review for the project is complete.
Some residents questioned the district’s spending and priorities. “You have limited time and limited money that you are wasting on studies and analysis. We don’t need anymore analysis of athletic lights, stop that, clear the costs and focus on safety and modernization,” said Malibu resident Cindy Vandor.
“Pay attention and stop spending money because we’re going to litigate the hell out of you people,” she added.
District officials and consultants said they would also be reevaluating the joint use agreement between the city and the school district, which a few residents questioned in regard to the role the city has in campus enhancements. With the joint use agreement, the city pays the school district to use the school’s facilities for recreational and community purposes.
Bob Stallings, city parks and recreation manager, said the joint use agreement will have no impact on the lighting issue and the city has not used the temporary lighting nor has the agreement been a part of the decision to bring lighting to the school, but it will play a role in maintenance, supervision and security in regard to any use of facilities.
Malibu paid SMMUSD $90,900 for joint use in 2007-2008, Stallings said. A portion of this money is earmarked for Malibu High School, an amount determined annually based on facility usage. The joint use agreement lasts three years and will expire on June 30, at which point it can be renewed.
Joseph Smith, city associate planner and lead planner on the Measure BB project, said at some point, however, the city will eventually review the lighting additions, either after or concurrent with Coastal Commission review, due to Malibu’s Local Coastal Program.
The issue would have to go before the city planning department, which would make a recommendation to the Planning Commission, which would then vote on the topic. (If the Planning Commission decision were appealed, the issue would go before the City Council.)
Green design at Malibu High
Creating a sustainable school was voiced repeatedly as a district, student and resident priority, said Kevin O’Brien, a representative with HMC Architecture, the firm working on Malibu High School’s construction project. Green-friendly features will be implemented at all SMMUSD schools as part of the Measure BB Campus Improvements.
At Malibu High School these enhancements will include green roofs, wind turbines and solar panels, bioswales (landscaped areas with vegetation that filter runoff water) and native landscaping. These measures, in addition to the use of day lighting and natural ventilation, should reduce the school’s carbon footprint and promote energy efficiency, O’Brien said at last week’s Measure BB meeting at the school.
All district schools undergoing Measure BB renovations will adhere to CHPS, or Collaborative for High Performance Schools, standards, a program certification that assigns points in a rating system based on how well schools measure up in eco-friendly categories. [It is similar to the LEED certification process used for residential and governmental buildings.]
According to school district officials, all new plans for SMMUSD schools exceed CHPS standards, some by more than 70 percent. A passive cooling ventilation system, which is easier to attain in Malibu than in Santa Monica, will play a large role in Malibu High’s CHPS score, in addition to the middle school and high school’s open common areas, water efficiency and natural lighting.
Consultants will be considering how to reduce air pollution, soil erosion, energy usage and campus runoff during the construction process, and the environmental impact review should examine sustainable approaches and alternatives.
There are no further Measure BB site meetings scheduled as of now, but when the draft environmental impact report is released (slated for spring), there will be a minimum 45-day public comment period.